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A Royal Honeymoon in Rajasthan
Part 2 [from page 2] The greatest sight in Jodhpur is of course, the Mehrangadh fort,  erected on a rocky hill in 1459
AD, and since then continuously enlarged. The fort has
imposing walls, 7 monumental gates, some with spikes to
prevent battering by elephants and sharply angled turns
to disconcert the enemy. [There is] superb natural rocky
defences outside, and inside was a courtyard overlooked
by beautifully carved royal
chamber with celestial balls, a dancing hall with 80 kg
gold plated ceiling, embroidered silk tents, musical
instruments, miniature paintings and collections of
palanquins, elephant howdahs and royal cradles. But we
did see the impressive armoury of swords, shields and
guns, and the canon guarded ramparts. The Umaid
Bhuvan Palace, on the other hand was built
totally for pleasure from 1929 to 1943, and has 15 acres
of garden, gilt furniture, portraits, ornaments, art deco
chandeliers. Chinese artifacts, antique clocks, a
theatre, a Romanesque swimming pool and other luxuries.
The jewel in the crown is the double domed courtyard
which soars 150 ft in the centre, separating the hotel
and museum wing. The Marwar hall is a majestic
appointment with Dalvir sinhji of hotel Madho Niwas for a
typical home-cooked Marwari meal in his garden
restaurant. We enjoyed the besan gatta. gatte ki achar,
kera sangini, biryani and Rajasthan sweets. Dinner at
Karni Bhuvan was another interesting affair-the
atmosphere in the garden of the 1940s colonial bungalow
has recreated a Rajasthani village with huts and log
fires, and the buffet was reasonably good,especially the
freshly barbecued tandoori chicken and the delicious
apricot sweet.
Part 3 of this article will be featured in September. Watch for it! ___________________________________________________________ Anil Mulchandani is the owner of North West Safaris and Travel Services and undertakes consultancy for travel and tourism in the Gujarat - Rajasthan region. You can contact him at this email address: ssibal@ad1.vsnl.net.in. Dinesh Shukla, the photograher for these beautiful photographs, does free-lance photography. You can see more of his works at: www.ahmedabadcity.com/html/dinesh.html. His phone number: 079-6610609, fax: 079-6560962 |
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